Gransenbon, Canmake, Heroine displays

More photos of the store displays for the new Gransenbon, Canmake and Heroine Make collections. The Gransenbon one features the new #10 and #11 blushes, the three new eyeshadow duos and a face powder. The Canmake display has the LE #4 Chocolate Cheek Gradation, new bronzers and Highlight Gradations while the Heroine Make one features the three new lipglosses.

Musings on Makeup Stashes

Every once in awhile, someone on Makeupalley will make a post musing about the ridiculously large size of the makeup collections of other members, like this thread below. I also often see similar snarky comments on Cozycot, for example in response to other members who post photos of their personal collections or makeup hauls.
http://www.makeupalley.com/m~61757385

My buddy Makeuphor had just told me about some of the awful comments that she had been receiving in response to her video blogs about her stash. Unfortunately, it seems that some people feel that the anonymity of the Internet is a license to be rude and judgemental about other people's passions and hobbies. What I hate most are the crude questions that many like to ask about one's occupation or means of funding such a lavish hobby. Most irritating are the ones that start, by going, 'Oh, I'm being really nosey but what do you do for a living?" If you know that's a nosey question, why ask it? Is it really any of our business how someone else likes to spend her money? We makeup addicts post photos of our collections because we've spent a lot of time and effort building them up and are proud of our collections, not to mention it's great fun sharing makeup tips and new discoveries with other fellow addicts.

Everyone has different spending habits and vices. As long as our makeup collections are not driving us into debt, why should we be made to feel guilty about having a large stash? Most of my fellow makeup buddies are working professionals who have every right in the world to pamper themselves with their own hard-earned money. We're not relying on sugar daddies, prostitution or taking out a second mortgage to buy ourselves the latest lipstick. Yes, makeup is trivial and frivolous in the larger scheme of things. But it can work wonders for improving one's appearance, self-esteem and confidence. Like any other hobby, it's something that people have fun with and get passionate about. Are there better, more worthwhile ways of spending our money? Probably, but that's a value judgement that's up to the individual person to make. If looking at big makeup stashes and hauls makes you feel physically ill, then you're seriously probably better off staying away from Makeupalley!

My makeup stash is worth easily more than $10,000 and I have enough to last me the next 5 years without buying anything else. But so what? That's still less than what an average Singaporean would spend on a car in a year. What my colleagues spend on one parking fine is enough for me to buy a dozen Gransenbon blushes! I don't smoke, drink, go clubbing/pubbing, buy $5 cups of coffee or drive. I also don't buy lottery, gamble or have maids (that great indispensable luxury for many Singaporean households) to pick up after me. I also don't buy designer bags (except for LeSportsac Tokidoki but that's hardly in the league of Louis Vuitton or Prada), shoes, watches and jewellery which, by the way, I think is the biggest scam ever visited on womenkind! But if that's your thing, then good for you.

I've enjoyed working on this blog tremendously and deeply appreciate all the positive feedback that I've received. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to leave comments! I'll try to keep it up even after I leave Japan although it'll be a bit more difficult not being able to see all the new collections in person.

Susie NY Fall collection

The Susie NY "Velvety Madonna" fall collection has been added to the website. The two new eyeshadow quads #15 Vow and #16 Warmth look quite promising! The quads have an excellent texture that is very similar to Stila as they are pigmented, shimmery and very easy to blend.

http://susie-ny.com/news/news1_0708.html

Paul & Joe website update

The new Paul & Joe fall collection "Dear Pleasure" is up on the official website. In addition to the latest Collection Sparkles, a new range of brushes, brush holder, Light Cream Foundation N, Moisturising Compact Foundation and Face Powder N have also been added to the permanent line-up. The black and orange cat print for this collection doesn't look very appealing though.

http://www.paul-joe-beaute.com/

Gransenbon and Sweets Sweets

Some upcoming releases:

Gransenbon (31 August)

1. Pore Cover Powder (1680yen)

2. Gran de Eyes palettes (1680yen) #18 Evening Rose and #19 Noble Forest

Sweets Sweets (2 Oct)

1. Mixing Palette (777yen) - face color palette with 3 shades in 4 variations

2. Moisture Gloss (504yen) - MG11 Marmalade Orange and MG12 Lollipop Pink

3. Powder Blush (504yen) - PD9 Apricot and PD10 Strawberry Milk

4. Perfect Eyes (672yen) - PE9 Pink Plum, PE10 Honey Sweet Black, PE11 Lemon Green and PE12 Berry Apricot

5. Pure Smooth Powder (840yen)

6. Perfect Mascara Base (714yen)

Love Clover Marshmallow Fit Base UV N

Snapped these pics of the new Love Clover display in the Plaza Style (formerly Sony Plaza) store for the new Marshmallow Fit Base UV N (1890yen) in #5808 Choco and #5809 Natural Ochre. The texture feels fairly moisturising with sheer coverage. Choco is good for creating a slightly tan look without being too dark. These were being packaged with a small sample bottle of Marshmallow Fit Liquid Foundation N.

Update on Testimo/Revue

I checked with my favourite Kanebo SA today about the discontinuation of Testimo and Revue and she confirmed that Testimo will be discontinued in December and replaced by a new brand BUT Revue will continue! In addition, Testimo's products will not be phased out immediately. I guess it will be like Pied Nus which was continued to be sold after Maquillage was introduced but the product selection has dwindled over time. After Maquillage came out with their Double Shiny Eyes recently, all the PN Sparkling Eyes have been discontinued.

Beaute de Kose Ultimation True Satin Moisture Powder Makeup

Beaute de Kose will be launching their new base makeup line on 1 September in Japan. The new Ultimation True Satin Moisure Powder Foundation SPF18 PA++ (4200yen, 6 shades) is a foundation meant for use in the autumn and winter seasons. It is formulated with special powders and moisturising ingredients to prevent dryness while ensuring a natural finish with good coverage. The collection also includes a Compact Case II (1050yen), True Satin Moisture Liquid Makeup (4725yen, 6 shades), Makeup Base Moisture (31g, 3675yen) and Loose Powder (25g, 4725yen).

Kose TV CMs gallery

Check out this page for Kose's new tv commercials for Visee, Fasio, Esprique Precious and more!

http://www.kose.co.jp/campaign/cmg/index.html

Testimo and Revue to be discontinued

Just read on 2Channel that the current fall collections for both Revue and Testimo will be their last. Come December, these two brands will be discontinued and replaced by a new brand, Coffret d'Or (not sure of spelling but it means 'gold box' in French). This is similar to when Pied Nus and Proudia were discontinued and replaced by Maquillage. And the bad news is that Coffret d'Or will be a "no print price" brand just like Maquillage and Esprique Precious. Which means no more drugstore discounts!! I really hate this 'no print price' trend in Japanese drugstore brands. Hope that the new brand will at least have more elegant packaging than Maquillage's weirdly shaped compacts and maintain the excellent quality of Revue and Testimo if not their affordable pricing. It's just so sad, to think that there won't be new Testimo and Revue collections to look forward to.

New Canmake Collections

Cosme.net has a new Canmake collection listed for 23 September:

1. Essence In Cream Foundation SPF 1 PA++ (3 shades, 1050yen)

2. Bright Up Base SPF 15 PA++: makeup base with pink pearl (945yen)

And another one on 25 October:

1. Eye Nuance #18 Girly Night (609yen)

2. Loose Cheek #6 Mauve Pink and #7 Cinnamon Sugar (819yen)

3. Perfect Black Eyeliner - felt type (525yen)

4. Deep & Lasting Eyeliner - liquid eyeliner (735yen)

5. Gloss Fit Nail - nude nailpolishes (609yen)

6. Super Curl Base Hardener (609yen)

7. Super Gloss Coat (609yen)

Some pics of the current limited edition collection out in stores now.

RMK x See by Chloe

RMK will be releasing a foundation kit starting 14 September in collaboration with See by Chloe pouch. The kit includes a choice of any makeup base and foundation, cleansing milk (30g), Creamy Soap N (30g), Skin Tuner Smoother (30ml) and a RMK x See by Chloe original pouch. The kit will retail for 8820yen to 9555yen depending on the makeup base and foundation type.

Jill Stuart Cheeky Girls

The Jill Stuart "Cheeky Girls" fall collection was finally launched today so I got to take some close-up pics of the new Brilliance Eyes palettes, Eye Jellies and Mixed Compact Blushes. The Brilliance Eyes palettes are even prettier in real life than they appear in the photos. My dear mom was an absolute star and helped me pick up the items that I needed for CPs as I was tied up at work :-)

Kiss Me Heroine Make Lipglosses

Kiss Me Heroine Make has a very popular line of mascaras that is widely available in Japanese drugstores. They've just launched a new lipgloss (1029yen) in 3 shades, pink, beige and red. These have intense shimmer and are a bit sticky, according to the first few reviews on Cosme.net.

Shu Uemura & Kesalan Patharan Fall

The Shu Uemura "Komon" fall collection is now up on the official website. I love the elegant promo image but I find it strange that for such a quintessentially Japanese makeup brand, Shu never uses Japanese or Asian models in its ad campaigns, only Caucasians. At least from what I can remember of its ads over the past few years. If I'm wrong, do enlighten me.

http://www.shu-uemura.co.jp/new/20070718_komon.html

Another website that has worth checking out for its new fall collection is Kesalan Patharan. I played with the collection at the KP counter last week and fell in love with the two new eyeshadow palettes. These are gorgeous, especially the purple palette, with excellent colour payoff. The floral imprint rubs off almost immediately though. The Pure Pearl Varie in S2 Frosty Purple and S3 Frosty Pink are super sparkly, finely-milled rich shimmer powders that are just too pretty for words. This is one KP collection that you do not want to miss! And I'm not even a KP fan...

http://www.kesalanpatharan.co.jp/

K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner

K-Palette's Real Lasting Eyeliner "1 Day Tattoo" (1260yen) often has its own dedicated display in Japanese drugstores, like the top-selling Opera MyLash and Dejavu Fibrewig mascaras. It is a liquid liner with a slim brush tip. It's K-Palette's bestselling item and currently, there are three new limited edition shades out. #101 is smokey navy in a metal black case. As these do not have a twist-click thingy at the end like Majolica Majorca's Neo Automatic Liners, I still have no idea how one gets the liquid to flow out! Maybe Michelle can enlighten me as I vaguely recall that she has used this before :-) Edited to add: these are actually all the same black colour as the regular liner, it's only the color of the case that's different! These were released to commemorate K-Palette selling over 1 million of these babies.

Stila Girls

Prior to arriving in Japan, Stila and MAC dominated my makeup collection. I liked MAC for its uber-hip colours and frequent new collections that meant that there was always something new to look forward to each month. I adored Stila for its whimsical Stila girls illustrations and pretty, feminine makeup. Even though my collection has since expanded to include many Japanese brands, I still reach frequently for my Stila stuff. Sadly, Stila decided a few years ago that the Stila girls made it look too childish and so the Stila girls rarely appear on the products anymore, except in Japan where Stila Japan sometimes releases Japan/Asia-exclusive collections such as the Sakura, Spring Ephemeral and June Bride collections. I've been really lucky to be living in Japan for the past few years and having the opportunity to snap these up. Anyway, I thought I'd do a blog post on my Stila girls collection as I know my buddy Makeuphor also loves them :-) So Iz, this one is for you!

These are the 3-pan palettes. In 2004, Stila released a new design each month exclusively at Nordstrom department store in the US. I finally completed my collection of all 12 earlier this year when I bought the last piece on Yahoo Japan auctions. How I wish Stila would do these again regularly. Also in the photo are the three palettes from the Italian Ices collection (Summer 2003), two Confections for Eyes & Cheeks palettes from Holiday 2003, three palettes from the Mod collection (Fall 2003) and two Japan-exclusive palettes that were released in August 2006. In the bottom right hand corner are three 2-pan palettes that were released exclusively in Japan in October 2006.

Next up are the vintage classic Stila round trios/quads. Many people get turned off by the flimsy cardboard packaging but I don't mind it at all. I think Stila first started releasing these around 2000. I think when I first started noticing Stila, it had just released the High Tea quads (Summer 2002) as I remember seeing them in the Sephora in Georgetown in Washington DC. These are pretty in the pan but hard to work as they're mostly matte shades. The Bohemian trios (Fall 2002) are another fan favourite but the shades tend to look muddy on me. My favourites are the Winter Blues (love the middle shimmery lavender shade), the purple trio that came out for holiday 2005 and Spring Ephemeral, another Japan-exclusive trio that was released in March 2007. Sakura looks very pretty but is actually absolutely lousy in terms of color payoff. Plus I dropped it less than 3 hours after buying it so it's all cracked up...sob! The Japan-exclusive Mystique, Intrigue and Captivate eyeshadow trios and blush duo from Holiday 2006 are cute but the colours are not that stunning. The Cabana Girls collection was also too matte and pale for my liking.

These are the Pussycat Dolls, Sleeping Princess, Holiday Look Books from 2002 and June Bride palettes. June Bride was another Japan-exclusive collection in June 2006. I had to CP quite a few sets of these for fellow MUAers and it was a royal pain having to go around to several counters because each customer was only allowed to buy one set.

These are some of the GWPs that I've collected over the years. The three plastic folder in the top row of the pic on the left came free with an issue of Urb magazine (now defunct) a few years ago. The cushy pink lingerie case was a present from a dear MUA buddy.

These Stila bags and makeup pouch were GWPs given out by Stila Singapore. These are fantastic quality, very sturdy and easy to clean. The bag in the middle was the GWP that was given out when Stila was first launched in Singapore. My mom has used it a lot but it still looks almost brand new. The first bag on the left is my favourite as it's very roomy and I used to carry it for doing CP hauls. Some of the Japanese Stila SAs noticed it and loved it too :-) The lady in the red dress in the bottom right corner of the makeup pouch is the Stila Girl illustration for Singapore! That's our Changi Airport control tower in the background. Unfortunately, Stila Singapore rarely has such good bags as GWPs anymore. Probably because these cost quite a bit to produce.

And finally, this Stila diary is one of my most prized pieces. I had to buy it off Ebay but it was worth every single cent. Of course I could never bear to write in it so it usually just sits in a plastic bag in my drawer, only taken out to be admired once or twice a year. I rarely buy Stila's new products these days due to the lack of Stila girls packaging and also, not many of their recent collections have appealed to me that much compared to the Stila palettes that I already own. Plus I feel guilty that I don't use my existing Stila collection as often as I should. The only Stila item that I've ever managed to finish are a couple of lipglazes in the classic size. Alright, I hope you've enjoyed this trip down the memory lane with me :-)

Kate Gradical Eyes S & Dual Carat

I took these photos awhile ago but never got around to posting them. Anyway, here they are, the new Kate Gradical Eyes S and Dual Carat Eyes SV2 and BR3. I didn't manage to get photos of the three brown Gradical Eyes S palettes, which of BR2 is really lovely as it's a mix of rose and rosy brown shades rather than the usual chocolate and beige browns.

Jill Stuart Mix Compact Blush

Very accurate close-up pics of the Jill Stuart Mix Compact Blushes! The shades are #1 Baby Blush, #2 Rose Bloom, #3 Coral Glow and #4 Hot Cherry.

This is the limited edition #5 Pastel Peach.

In September, Jill Stuart will also be releasing a new Moist Silk Liquid Foundation in 5 shades, a new shade of Control Color and a new shade of the Loose Powder.